How to get a gambling licence in Panama: fees and steps

The Pleno of the JCJ decides on the Director's recommendation whether to grant the contract, the Contraloría General de la República endorses it, and the Director then issues each Licencia de Juego by reasoned resolution.

• Nobody may advertise or operate Internet games in Panama without a JCJ contract, and a person holding a licence from another jurisdiction may not advertise or operate in Panama without one.
• An operator may contract with a Designated Operator to use a licence, with the Director's prior authorisation by reasoned resolution (art. 17).
• The law sets no renewal procedure, notice period or fee for online contracts; three months of unpaid revenue share can lead to an emergency order or termination.

Laws that apply

• Decreto Ley 2 of 10 February 1998 (gambling regime), amended by Ley 49 of 2009 and Ley 71 of 2011
• Resolución 11 of 6 March 2020 of the Pleno of the JCJ (games of chance through the Internet; replaces Resolución 65 of 25 October 2002)
• Ley 527 of 28 May 2026 (problem gambling, minors, blocking)
• Resolución 5 of 2022 and Resolución 28 of 2022 (self-exclusion); Resolución 18 of 2019 and MEF-RES-2022-2900 (advertising warnings)
• Ley 23 of 27 April 2015 (anti-money laundering); Código Fiscal art. 699 as replaced by Ley 8 of 2010 (income tax)

A legal-person applicant must be incorporated in Panama or registered as a foreign company in the Registro Público. Foreign applicants are treated alike; incorporation documents must be authenticated or apostilled.

• The charter must state the object "Operar Juegos de Suerte y Azar a través de Internet, de conformidad con las normas emitidas por la Junta de Control de Juegos" and restrict share issues and transfers to those the JCJ allows.
• A legal representative in Panama is required, and applications are filed through a lawyer (apoderado legal).
• The operator must keep offices and a call centre in Panama; the website must show the address, telephone numbers and location of the head offices in Panama.
• No minimum share capital is set. The applicant must show that the financing of the whole operation is adequate and lawful, with a business plan stating the initial investment.
• The majority shareholder or the president must have at least five years of experience in the gaming industry.
• The JCJ investigates the applicant, its board and shareholders up to the beneficial owner, at the applicant's cost. Every director, dignitary, trusted employee or shareholder needs a Certificado de Idoneidad (fitness certificate); every employee needs a Credencial de Trabajo (work credential, B/.50 each).
• No express requirement for a Panamanian bank account appears in the official texts.

• The Internet gaming system must hold a Certificado de Cumplimiento (certificate of compliance) from an Entidad Autorizada registered with the JCJ, and must itself be registered with the Director before it is implemented.
• The system must be bought from a supplier registered with the JCJ as Proveedor Registrado (fee B/.1,000). There is no B2B operating licence.
• The technical standard is the resolution's own technical chapter (arts 57-70): player-account and session controls, control-program authentication every 24 hours, game fairness and reports.
• No server in Panama is required. The operator states whether its servers are in Panama and, if abroad, their exact location, and files the certificate with that declaration.
• The JCJ does not publish a list of registered Entidades Autorizadas; ask the Director's office which are registered before commissioning a certificate.
• AML: casinos, betting organisers and other physical or online establishments are non-financial obligated subjects under Ley 23 of 2015, supervised by the Intendencia de Supervisión y Regulación de Sujetos No Financieros of the MEF. Duties include risk-based due diligence and beneficial-owner identification.

The State takes a participation in revenue under the operating contract, not a tax on bets or players. It is paid monthly within the first ten calendar days.

• The operator files a monthly gross-revenue report within the first ten days of the following month, showing total deposits to player accounts, total wagered and funds held in player accounts.
• Gambling at casinos, hipódromos and State concessions is exempt from ITBMS (7% VAT); the exemption list does not name Internet gaming.

• Ley 527 contains no advertising ban. Advertising is allowed for operators holding a JCJ contract.
• All advertising or promotion of games of chance, by any medium, must carry the warning "Jugar Responsablemente también es parte del juego" and mention the JCJ's Sección de Juego Responsable (MEF-RES-2022-2900).
• Minimum age 18: the system must prevent registration of anyone under eighteen, and Ley 527 prohibits anyone under 18 from any gambling, in casinos or online (in force from 29 May 2026).
• The JCJ keeps a national self-exclusion register (Registro de Autoexcluidos) and a separate register for self-excluded people on online platforms; the exclusion period is two years.
• Breaches of the Decreto Ley and its regulations carry fines up to B/.100,000, doubled on repeat, suspension, or cancellation of the Licencia de Juego, which ends the contract. Ley 527 adds fines of B/.25,000 to B/.100,000 for online operators, with temporary domain blocking in graver cases.

The route in the 2020 resolution, from the application to the written start of operations.

1. 01

   File the application through a lawyer

   JCJ, memorial petitorio

   Name the number of Licencias de Juego wanted and attach the business plan, ten-year background of each director and shareholder, source of financing and apostilled incorporation documents.

2. 02

   Pay for the investigation

   Opens within 30 days

   The Director opens an investigation within 30 days of receiving the application, at the applicant's cost. No deadline for the Pleno's decision is published.

3. 03

   Pleno decision

   JCJ Pleno

   The Pleno may approve, condition, limit or reject on the Director's recommendation. A refused applicant cannot reapply within one year after the refusal is final.

4. 04

   Endorsement and key money

   B/.50,000 per licence

   The Contraloría General endorses the contract; the key money is paid and the Director issues each Licencia de Juego.

5. 05

   Bonds, certification, start

   B/.600,000 in bonds

   Lodge the B/.500,000 performance bond and B/.100,000 prize bond, register the system with a Certificado de Cumplimiento and a registered supplier, then receive the Director's written authorisation to operate.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 9 Nov 2026.